Catalysis Science & Technology Blog

Oxidoreductases reduce bulk-bulky hydroxy-ketones to give optically active 1,2-diols

31 May 2012

This article is HOT as recommended by the referees.

Challenging enzymatic stereoselective reduction of sterically demanding substrates.

Dörte Rother and colleagues have identified alcohol dehydrogenases that can be used for the stereoselective reduction of some sterically demanding ketones, under mild conditions. The team initially screened eight enzymes, with alcohol dehydrogenase from Ralstonia sp. giving the best results. Compounds with two chiral centres have important ‘building block’ applications as synthons for catalysts, pharmaceuticals and agrochemicals and this study demonstrates the high potential of biocatalysts in this area.

To find out more, download the article now for free now…

Stereoselective synthesis of bulky 1,2-diols with alcohol dehydrogenases
Justyna Kulig, Robert C. Simon, Christopher A. Rose, Syed Masood Husain, Matthias Häckh, Steffen Lüdeke, Kirsten Zeitler, Wolfgang Kroutil, Martina Pohl and Dörte Rother
Catal. Sci. Technol., 2012
DOI: 10.1039/C2CY20120H

This article is due to be published in our upcoming themed issue focusing on biocatalysis along with the below perspective:

Exploiting duality in nature: industrial examples of enzymatic oxidation and reduction reactions
K. Robins and A. Osorio-Lozada
Catal. Sci. Technol., 2012
DOI: 10.1039/C2CY20102J

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Multi-functional catalysts and the Fischer–Tropsch synthesis

18 May 2012

By Matthew Cude, Development Editor.

This article is HOT as recommended by the referees. And we’ve made it free to access for 4 weeks

Multi-functional catalysts have huge potential; they can run simultaneous or consecutive reactions and facilitate complicated multi-reaction processes. The Fischer–Tropsch synthesis converts carbon monoxide and hydrogen into hydrocarbons, an interesting gas to liquid process which is ever more relevant with growing energy demands.

$The catalyst shows excellent selectivity for the gasoline fraction hydrocarbons$

The catalyst shows excellent selectivity for the gasoline fraction hydrocarbons

This Hot Communication from Baoning Zong and colleagues details an interesting bifunctional Raney Fe/H-ZSM-5 catalyst which shows good selectivity and is very effective at converting the gases into gasoline-range hydrocarbons. The chemical structuring of the catalyst is key to its success – download the article below for more details.

A highly selective Raney Fe@HZSM-5 Fischer–Tropsch synthesis catalyst for gasoline production: one-pot synthesis and unexpected effect of zeolites
Bo Sun, Guobin Yu, Jun Lin, Ke Xu, Yan Pei, Shirun Yan, Minghua Qiao, Kangnian Fan, Xiaoxin Zhang and Baoning Zong

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Biodiesel, a fuel for the future….but what about the waste?

11 May 2012

By Matthew Cude, Development Editor.

Reusability of catalysts

The topic of sustainable energy needs no introduction and while there are numerous technologies that provide a more sustainable and environmentally friendly energy source, no single process has been identified as the best way forward. This is in part due to the fact that current supplies of energy, whether generated by gas, coal, nuclear, solar, wind or tidal sources, all have their own disadvantages.

Biodiesel is no different, as the transesterification of readily available vegetable oils produces large quantities of waste glycerol as a by-product (around 10 wt%) causing substantial economic waste.

In their manuscript Binbin Zhao, Chengcheng Li and Chunli Xu discuss their attempts to understand the conversion of glycerol into the more useful product 1,2-propanediol. The reaction mechanism of glycerol hydrogenolysis is not well understood so the team have tried to study it using a Cu/Mg-Al mixed-oxide catalyst with hydrotalcite-like compounds (a class of anionic clays found in nature).

: Mechanism of glycerol hydrogenolysis on reconstructed hydrotalcite

You can download the manuscript below for full details of the team’s research

Insight of catalytic mechanism of glycerol hydrogenolysis using basal spacing of hydrotalcite as a tool
Binbin Zhao, Chengcheng Li and Chunli Xu
Journal Article
Catal. Sci. Technol., 2012, Accepted Manuscript
DOI: 10.1039/C2CY20144E

If you’re interested in finding out more information about the role of catalysis in sustainable energy you can take a look at our previous blog post The quest for cleaner, cheaper, more sustainable energy.

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Zeal for zeolites: an article collection

11 May 2012

By Matthew Cude, Development Editor.

A collection of high impact articles on the topic of zeolites from the RSC’s Journal of Materials Chemistry (JMC), Catalysis Science & Technology and Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics (PCCP).

Zeolites are truly fascinating materials, first noted in the 18^th century they were recognized for their interesting ability to release steam when heated. Today around 3 million tons of natural zeolite are mined for commercial use each year. Zeolites have found applications in agriculture, construction, heating, refrigeration, nuclear energy, in the petrochemical industry, as detergents and cat litter!

Unsurprisingly these materials have sparked the interest of scientists around the world since their discovery, resulting in the creation of a vast number of unique zeolitic frameworks and pushing the boundaries of chemical understanding.

The articles below have been made free to access until 8^th June to give you a sample of the high impact, cutting edge research being carried out in the exciting world of zeolites!

Click here for the full list of free articles

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Metathesising butane to liquid hydrocarbon fuels

04 May 2012

By Fiona McKenzie, Executive Editor.

Crude oil is running out and its distillation into useful fuel products will soon no longer be an option. So what are we going to do?

Mostafa Taoufik and colleagues from the University of Lyon and BP put forward the methathesis reaction as a solution. Producing liquid hydrocarbons from gaseous light alkanes in this way is ideal since the products have low aromatic content (aromatics pose environmental and health concerns).

No method exists for achieving this under mild conditions and high selectivity – until now.

Taoufik and team have developed a catalytic system consisting of tungsten or tantalum carbene hydrides supported on silica-alumina in a fixed-bed reactor. The multifunctionality of the catalyst enables three different reactions to take place at a single site (dehydrogenation, olefin metathesis, and hydrogenation) ultimately resutling in liquid fuel with an asymmetric product distribution towards heavier alkanes.

To read more, download the PDF now…

Selective conversion of butane into liquid hydrocarbon fuels on alkane metathesis catalysts
Kai C. Szeto, Lucie Hardou, Nicolas Merle, Jean-Marie Basset, Jean Thivolle-Cazat, Charalambos Papaioannou and Mostafa Taoufik

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A Fine Catalyst for Success: Sicily

04 May 2012

By Matthew Cude, Development Editor.

Professor Graham Hutchings speaking on the latest developments using supported gold and gold palladium nanoparticles as heterogeneous catalysts

By Mario Pagliaro and Leonardo Palmisano

The first “FineCat – Symposium on heterogeneous catalysis for fine chemicals” was held in Palermo, Italy, on April 18-19, 2012 in the splendid venue of the Steri Palace, hall of Palermo’s University Rectorate.

The idea for this meeting was born out of the 2011 themed issue of Catalysis Science & Technology, Heterogeneous catalysis for fine chemicals (dedicated to Professor Michele Rossi), and took less than 3 months to go from idea to reality.

The scientific programme featured 14 symposia and 5 poster presentations, with the best poster winning the acclaimed Catalysis Science & Technology certificate and a copy of Enantioselective Homogeneous Supported Catalysis. The lectures and posters highlighted exciting chemical innovation from theoretical through practical approaches including predicting catalyst performance, gold catalysis for selective oxidations, asymmetric syntheses and hybrid silicates, bio-hydrogen production and photocatalysis for organic synthesis.

Younger and more experienced scientists at the Symposium were chosen in a good balance to present and discuss advances in the field, whereas eminent chemists Graham Hutchings from Cardiff University and Gadi Rothenberg from the University of Amsterdam were invited to give the plenary lectures.

On April 18th, Professor Rothenberg opened the conference with a lecture on a simple, but effective, new method for predicting catalyst performance….

Read the full conference report

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Reviews in Catalysis

02 May 2012

By Fiona McKenzie, Executive Editor.

Are you new to the field of catalysis and searching for a good starting point in the literature?
Are you an experienced researcher on the hunt for a comprehensive overview on recent advances in catalysis?

Then look no further.

Over the past year we have published a number of Perspectives and Mini Reviews authored by world-leading scientists and covering all areas of catalysis.

Scroll down to begin browsing our reviews in:

Asymmetric organocatalysis
Metal-mediated asymmetric catalysis
Fuel synthesis
Nanocatalysis
Biomimetic and biocatalysis
Zeolitic catalysis
Photocatalysis

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Green ionic liquids for sugar fatty acid ester biosynthesis

27 Apr 2012

By Helen Lunn, Publishing Editor.

sugar fatty acid synthesis In this Perspective, the use of ionic liquids as alternative reaction media to traditional organic solvents for the biosynthesis of sugar fatty acids esters is explored. Sugar fatty acids are extremely important industrially as non-ionic surfactants in a wide range of applications in food, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals.

Recycling slag

26 Apr 2012

By Fiona McKenzie, Executive Editor.

Scientists from Japan have used waste slag (the high volume byproduct from iron making) to catalyse biofuel synthesis. Not only does this engineering strategy find a much-needed recycling alternative to slag, but renewable fuel, biodiesel is produced – a sustainable and environmentally-friendly alternative to petrochemicals.

Recycling slag for biodiesel

Use of the slag-made hydrocalumite catalysts for large scale biodiesel synthesis promises an economical and ecological contribution to alleviate the fuel demands of the future.

Read the article here: Transesterifications Using Hydrocalumite Synthesized from Waste Slag: An Economical and Ecological Route for Biofuel Production
Yasutaka Kuwahara, Keita Tsuji, Tetsutaro Ohmichi, Takashi Kamegawa, Kohsuke Mori and Hiromi Yamashita

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Catalysis Science & Technology Blog

Oxidoreductases reduce bulk-bulky hydroxy-ketones to give optically active 1,2-diols

Top ten most accessed articles in April

Multi-functional catalysts and the Fischer–Tropsch synthesis

Biodiesel, a fuel for the future….but what about the waste?

Zeal for zeolites: an article collection

Metathesising butane to liquid hydrocarbon fuels

A Fine Catalyst for Success: Sicily

Reviews in Catalysis

Green ionic liquids for sugar fatty acid ester biosynthesis

Recycling slag

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